16 Selected Rural Electric Cooperatives for New ERA Program, Including First Award to Dairyland that will Result in Lower Energy Costs and Good-Paying Jobs for Rural Americans

WESTBY, WI, Sept. 5, 2024 – During a visit to Wisconsin today, President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities across the country through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. Together, New ERA and other investments in rural clean energy in the President’s Inflation Reduction Act make up the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936 as part of the New Deal.

Phase 1 Targets Air Conditioning Replacement for Low-Income Households Facing Extreme Heat

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Resiliency has officially launched the first phase of “Efficiency Arizona,” a statewide program designed to increase energy efficiency, promote clean energy, and reduce utility costs for residents. This initiative is part of Governor Katie Hobbs’ commitment to addressing high energy bills and extreme heat, particularly for working-class Arizonans.

Phase 1 of the program focuses on replacing air conditioning units with energy-efficient heat pumps for residents who meet specific income eligibility requirements (below 80% AMI and 80-150% AMI). This initial phase is a collaboration with Wildfire and regional community action agencies to ensure those most vulnerable to Arizona’s extreme temperatures receive the necessary support.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $521 million in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant Program awards to continue the build out of electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in communities across the country, along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways. The CFI grants, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will fund EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in 29 states, eight Federally Recognized Tribes, and the District of Columbia. That includes the construction of more than 9,200 EV charging ports, with the majority of the investment, $321 million, designated for 41 projects that expand all types of EV infrastructure in communities, including Level 2 and DC fast chargers.

A recently launched campaign in Arizona, the Nos Ayuda a Vivir (it helps us live) campaign, is looking to educate Latinos on how they can benefit from the Clean Energy Plan — but it’s part of a larger project aimed at bringing environmental justice to the Latino community. Launched by Poder Latinx, a national non-profit organization that advocates for more Latinos in civic engagement, this $1.7 million campaign wants to bridge the gap between policy and the Latino community to ensure they aren’t left behind as the country moves to cleaner and renewable energy.

The grid is overburdened, under-resourced — and vital to the energy transition. New federal funding aims to increase capacity and get more clean energy built.

The U.S. power grid is overburdened and under-resourced — and the Biden administration just announced a major investment aimed at helping solve those problems.

The Department of Energy has offered $2.2 billion to eight projects across 18 states that could expand and strengthen the grid. The projects range from deploying grid-enhancing technologies that boost the capacity of existing power lines to building brand-new high-voltage transmission cables that will enable wind farms in the Great Plains and off the coast of New England to plug into the grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled a major investment as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda. The 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize and Grant, a three-phase initiative totaling $190 million, aims to modernize K-12 public schools with energy-efficient upgrades. This initiative will help schools reduce energy use and costs, improve indoor air quality, and create healthier learning environments for students and teachers.

Only one in five Arizona voters said they have heard about President Joe Biden’s effort to address climate change and expand clean energy.

One organization contends Arizona seniors have won big with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, especially as the state continues to battle relentless heat and the effects of climate change.

Dora Vasquez, executive director of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, said older Arizonans experience greater risk when exposed to extreme temperatures, which has led to an increased demand for energy and price hikes.

Historic funding to plug orphaned oil and gas wells will address environmental and safety hazards, create good-paying jobs.

The Department of the Interior today awarded $126.7 million through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York and Ohio to address legacy pollution.

Orphaned oil and gas wells are polluting backyards, recreation areas, and community spaces across the country. Many of these wells pose serious health and safety threats to the air we breathe and water we drink by contaminating surface and groundwater, releasing toxic air pollutants, and leaking methane – a “super pollutant” that is a significant cause of climate change and many times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Plugging orphaned wells supports broader Biden-Harris administration efforts under the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan.

As an accounting professional and small business consultant working with locally owned businesses for more than 20 years, I always hear stories from small business owners about their achievements, frustrations and how they enjoy doing the work they love.

I see how self-employment is a strong option for all individuals nowadays, and I truly believe that small businesses are the engine for local economies. Small businesses are a unique source of energy, creativity and fresh ideas.

Statistics speak for themselves about the entrepreneurial spirit in our state and how Arizona has consolidated as a hub to grow small businesses. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration,, 99.5% of business entities in Arizona are small businesses that employ 42.2% of Arizona workers.